


Jolly Roger & White Star Line

by Argathan



Series: History Makers [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Original Work, Titanic (1997)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, BDSM, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Drama, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Humor, Multi, Mysteries, Romance, Titanic Malediction, more tags will follow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argathan/pseuds/Argathan
Summary: A few years before the great revolution of the Androids, in the heart of Detroit, there was a prestigious school called the White Star Academy.But by the force of things, the future of this school is compromised, and the director has little time left to find a solution before the closing of his building.His last hope to reconcile teachers and students lies in a strange woman with a controversial attitude, to say the least. An archaeologist with a fiery temperament, whose unorthodox methods have enabled her to rise to the high ranks of explorers.And as time goes by, this young woman's knowledge and techniques will be most useful in saving the school and discovering the mysteries that arise from it. Mysteries that are intimately linked to her past and her future.
Relationships: Charles Lightoller/Original Male Character(s), William Murdoch (1873-1912)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: History Makers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095353
Kudos: 1





	1. To my followers

To my readers, old and new. 

2020 will have been a most chaotic year for everyone. Political tensions, health crisis, and other disasters will have marked this year in the hearts and minds of everyone. In one way or another. It is impossible to say that 2020 will not have gone unnoticed or left someone indifferent.  
This year will have marked the beginning of many projects on my part, many posted, but never completed, or even outright deleted in a burst of rage on my part. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to destroy what I create during certain empty periods. Point the finger at nervous breakdown and family rejection, and you have an author who is eager to prove herself and who doesn't get anywhere. Whether in writing or drawing. 

Something incredible happened in 2020. I went back to night school illustration classes to get back on a solid foundation. I didn't expect the teacher to cling so much to this little universe that I have been protecting all this time.  
And even less to see this little universe grow during NaNoWriMo to the point of becoming something I want to rework and make as correct as possible.  
So once again, what I posted has been deleted. To make room for something more worked on, more detailed. Something new, as the new year tries to impose itself.

Hoping that 2021 won't be as catastrophic and that inspiration will flow as freely as coca to offer you one chapter a week on this strange project where different fandoms are mixed.  
I would also like to point out that this project is a novel AND fanfiction. I am not trying to appropriate the rights of the works on which I base myself, but to integrate them into the universe I have created. Each existing work belongs to their respective authors, and I respect their work. 

"Jolly Roger & White Star Line" © Argathan  
"One Piece" © Eiichiro Oda  
"Detroit Become Human" © Quantic Dream  
"Titanic" (alternative universe)

Hoping that this story will please you and take you away from the darkness of the world. I wish you a good reading, a happy new year, and above all... Take care of yourself and your loved ones. We all need it. 

Argathan


	2. Bloody ashes on the snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detroit, January 2039... The White Star Academy burns down on New Year's Day, leaving students in terror...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or: How to start a fanfiction with a boom! (I hope)

January 1, 2039

The snoring of the flames was usually reassuring and soothing, as long as it came from the hearth of a well-placed fireplace in a cozy living room. The sight of the flames and sparks, the crackling of the wood and the peculiar smell that emanated from it had always had the merit of relieving the easily irritated nerves of the young woman whose long red hair flew in all directions under the power of the wind.  
Her long, pointed ears were lowered, stirred at the slightest change in sound like a cat, or a fox assessing its environment. All this while big tears streamed from her emerald eyes in which a strange pale green cross shone. On the left side of her face, stuck on her temple, a ring of light shone with a furious red glow, symbolizing her anger and despair. A distress that had invaded to the depths of her soul as she kept her hand clasped to the door of her car, watching the ash fall on the snow, sometimes immaculate, sometimes stained with the blood trail of those who had caused what was one of the most violent fires the young woman had ever seen in her life. 

On New Year's Day, in the heart of Detroit, the birthplace of Androids... The magnificent White Star Academy was in flames after an armed attack on the campus.   
An incessant ballet of ambulances, police cars, fire trucks had quickly begun as soon as the first calls for help came from those who remained at the school to celebrate the arrival of the new year together. Gunshots, shouts, screams of fear and orders of all kinds were launched with the sole aim of saving everyone and sparing the buildings from destruction.   
But she had heard the firefighters talking. The school was engulfed in flames. Only a few basement classrooms, the gymnasium and other campus-related facilities would survive the blaze. New tears streamed down her cheeks, already marked by heavy scars, as she watched as an ambulance loaded a body into what was the third body bag of the evening, while in the back of her car, lying against a young man with green hair and a clumsily bandaged eye, the dead firefighter's younger brother hobbled between grief and pain, his chest torn apart by a huge burn that would probably never heal.   
A coughing fit in the front of her vehicle made her head spin and she looked at the third student she had to drive to the hospital. She gritted her teeth until she saw a fair-skinned young man with freckles and moles running towards her, his dark brown hair stuck around his face by the cold sweat covering his skin, and his hazelnut eyes, usually so soft, were now as cold and serious as she had ever seen before.

"Go with your students to the hospital, Nora. Galo and his fire team are back in control and Nines will stay with them to report back when it's over. I have something to do before I meet you at the hospital." Lieutenant Connor Erka-Rickman said. "I'll see you in a bit."  
"Take care of yourself!" The young woman named Nora said, hugging the officer in a fraternal manner.

The young man gave her back her embrace and passed her a bottle of water, which she gratefully took and gave to the student sitting next to the driver's seat, before he watched the redhead climb into her vehicle to tap on the control screen the address where she wanted to go so that she could start off on the snowy Detroit road.   
Once far enough away from the school, Nora pressed a button next to the steering wheel for the electric car to switch to automatic mode and turned her seat to watch the two students in the back of the car, the young woman with black hair and blue eyes at her side drinking small sips of water and trying to keep her eyes on the road, before putting a small oxygen mask on her face at the request of the scarlet teacher. The poor girl had inhaled a lot of smoke, and a makeshift compress had been placed on the base of her scalp to stop the bleeding from an injury. Because this was the big condition for her to buy a car of this kind, Nora carried a large medical bag in the passenger compartment, which she placed on the floor and opened it to remove a syringe containing a powerful pain reliever and sedative. She placed the syringe between her teeth, and took the strap used to make a tourniquet and placed one on the arm of the boy with the burned torso.

"What are you doing?" The green-haired young man asked, tightening his grip slightly on the unconscious boy.   
"I'm injecting him with a painkiller and a sedative so that he has fewer spasms and can be a little calmer when he gets to the hospital. Even if he will remain unconscious when he arrives, at least he... will suffer a little less. Zoro, give me your arm. You need a dose of pain medication, too." Nora explained.   
"I don't need it. It's bearable." Zoro mumbled in japanese, looking away, using his free hand to squeeze his fingers on the bandage that was quickly placed over his left eye. "He needs care more than I do."   
"Zoro... No wound should be overlooked. Your eye has been lacerated; it could get infected very quickly... Leave it to the doctors and the teachers. You can take better care of Luffy if you are calmer and more thoughtful." The dark-haired lady said without turning to them, speaking Japanese as well.   
"I just said I didn't- Ow!!" Zoro exclaimed when he saw that Nora had pierced his skin with the needle, injecting a small dose of sedative and looking at him blasé.  
"No one is in a position to brag. Look at him. He's already starting to calm down." Nora sighed. 

The young Luffy had indeed stopped shaking, wrapped in a blanket that left his torso untouched so that the cloth would not stick to the burnt flesh and cause more damage. His face continued to express a form of suffering, but after what had just happened, there was no doubt that these pictures and events would remain forever etched in his heart, flesh, and memory. But after what he had seen, there was no doubt that these images haunted him even in unconsciousness. His short, black hair was sticking to his face, which was piled up with burns and cuts... And Nora's back seat was beginning to get dirty with blood that kept flowing from the gaping wound, even though it seemed partially cauterized. Zoro too had begun to calm down. The adrenaline of the moment allowed him to fight his narcolepsy, but there was no doubt that the repercussions would be heavy. For him, and for everyone else... No one would come out completely unscathed from what had just happened.

"Is he going to be okay?" The green-haired student from Japan asked as he continued to apply a large piece of tissue to his friend's wound.   
"If he's in Alan's care... then yes. I'm more afraid of the psychological damage than the physical, right now." Nora confessed as she passed a damp cloth over the brow of the brown-haired man who was clutching a cloth bag containing an incredible number of notebooks filled with notes. "But everything will be all right. You'll see. The Serpendor works miracles."  
"What will become of us, professor?" The young woman at the front asked, turning to look at her.   
"I don't know, Robin." Nora sighed as she regained control of her vehicle after lighting a delicately scented cigarette. "First you will all be examined and treated. And the officers will find a place for you to stay until the dormitory is rehabilitated."   
"That policeman who spoke to you. Is he a member of your family?" Robin guessed as she opened her eyes to look at the road ahead of them.   
"My little brother and Lieutenant of the Detroit Police Homicide Squad... Connor." Nora answered with a little pride in her voice despite her deep voice. 

She then turned her gaze to Robin, who was playing with a small bracelet around her wrist to keep her calm and came to put her hand in the teenager's dark hair, which continued to shake despite the heat in the car.   
Like the other two students in the back seat, she was terrified. And if she didn't have that rational mind and instinct that guided her in crisis situations, there was no doubt that Nora would be in a panic after what had just happened.   
There was no music on the car radio, just the communications between the police and the fire department, between Connor and his twin brother Nines. Being aware of everything was an obsession for her so that everything could be burned into her memory, stored in the Android processor that had kept her alive for years now. The LED at her temple kept glowing with this intense red glow, a curious golden veil forming over her green eyes. One could now say that Nora was going through all the colors and emotions at the same time...  
Finally, to her greatest relief, she saw the lights of the Serpendor hospital appear behind the snowflakes, the imposing silhouette of the medical complex forming more clearly with every meter crossed. Nora then grabbed the headset on her dashboard, slipped it over her ear, activated it, and waited for someone at the end of the emergency line to answer.

"Serpendor Emergency." A woman with the voice in a hurry answered.   
"Kelly! It’s Nora! I need three stretchers for the last students of the Academy. I'll be there in less than five minutes!"   
"What is the condition of the patients you bring in?” Kelly responded with a little eagerness.  
"One student had been breathing in too much smoke and woke up a little while ago. Another had a lacerated eye... And the third... third-degree burn all over his torso, he has been unconscious for a while. I want him to go first and have Alan and the Twins take care of him!" Nora said in an authoritative voice. The one she used to use to calm students who were resistant to authority.  
“Now!" she said.   
“The stretchers will be there when you arrive!" Kelly then said hurriedly as she heard about Alan and the condition of these students. 

It had to be said that Nora had a strange pass that allowed her to sort of override everyone else's priority in the hospital. Her own health wasn't the most glorious but being the daughter of the director and the best surgeon in Michigan was very helpful when it came to that kind of crisis.  
So, when Nora parked in the emergency parking lot, she had the pleasure of seeing three Androids arrive pushing stretchers ready to receive the shocked teenagers.   
One of them helped Robin out of the car and made her sit on the stretcher before wrapping her in a warm blanket and giving her an oxygen mask different from the one she had used in the car and she instinctively placed it over her nose and mouth. Tiny tears began to stream from her eyes, as did a sob that escaped her when she was asked to lie down to be hooked up to a hydration perfusion before disappearing inside.   
A second Android lifted the black-haired teenager's injured body, urgently plugging him into multiple infusions after Nora retrieved (not without difficulty as he clung to it) his books bag. He then had to convince his companion to let him go... Which was not easy as he refused to let him go without him. 

"You don't understand! I was asked not to leave him! I must not leave him alone!" Zoro said with a clenched fist.   
"Sir, I understand how you feel, but you can't go into the operating room with him. His condition is urgent, he must be operated on immediately. Please, trust the doctors of the Serpendor." The Android responded softly.   
"But I made a promise!" The green-haired Japanese exclaimed. "I'm all he has left!!! I can't leave him!"  
"And you'll keep it once you've both been treated. He needs surgery, and you've been pretty badly damaged too. So let them take him to the O.R., and a nurse will come in and take care of your eye. I know you're worried about him, Zoro... but you're not alone. You won't be alone anymore... everything will be fine now. Do you know why? Because I am here." Nora said as she drew him against her.

The young man calmed down after long seconds, dropping the stretcher to let the young man go, pushed by the Android nurses. Rather than let his hand fall back into the void, he hung it on the shoulder of the woman with the red hair and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth while trembling. He kept shaking like a leaf until Nora brought him inside to be cared for by a nurse who took him to the appropriate treatment room after kissing his forehead and promising once again that everything would be okay.   
Nora stumbled a little, clutching her fingers to her chest where a curious purplish mark pulsed and seemed to run through her veins, which blackened at first glance. She grunted and grabbed the vest hanging from her waist to hide this infernal wound, before going to the emergency booth to announce that the entire Academy had been evacuated, teachers and students had arrived at Serpendor and had been dispatched to the various services related to this kind of disaster. Nora sighed with relief and folded her arms over the reception desk to rest her head and growl in pain.   
Kelly, the receptionist on duty that night, put a glass of water and a candy bar in front of her, gently rubbing her hair. 

"Eat. The sugar will do you good. Let Dr. Rickman know you've arrived and get yourself checked." Kelly says.  
"Oh, I need a mechanic more than a doctor right now." Nora mumbled as she took a bite of chocolate which she ate without appetite. 

The young woman left the blond girl at the front desk and began poking around the hospital corridors looking for the different treatment rooms to get information about the patients brought in by the frantic pace of ambulances and teachers bringing the injured to this place where many miracles were happening. With an impressive Android processor connected to her brain, Nora circulated a message on the pagers of Dr. Rickman and his two assistants to let them know that she had arrived at the hospital and that everyone had been evacuated from the scene of the disaster, which was now visible on the phones, tablets, and screens on the wall.   
Nora shuddered, rubbing her arms, feeling deep cuts here and there, and resumed her journey, knowing the hospital like the back of her hand after spending so many months there.

Thus, she saw Zoro again, whose eye had been sewn up by a concentrated nurse, while another did the same on a tall, red-haired man whose left arm was missing, and whose eye had been sliced open by three razor-sharp blades. On reflection, Nora realized that the wounds were similar and came from the same weapon. She shook her head to prevent herself from conducting her own investigation as fatigue began to catch up with her. She preferred to let her rational side act, rather than get overwhelmed by the emotions that could make her snap at any moment.   
After that, the young woman visited several students already spread out in rooms, got news from the school principal whose days were in danger, but whose life was placed in the hands of the iconic duo from the hospital. A special system had been put in place to deal with the crowd of panicked students, allowing the teachers on site to help the nurses as best they could while maintaining a semblance of calm.   
Once the consultation was over, the students were given a paper bracelet (like the one they received at the entrance of an amusement park or concert) of a different color depending on their situation. Green meant that all was well and that they could go to the hospital cafeteria where a hot meal and all-you-can-eat drinks would be served for them so they could wait in a warm place. Yellow meant that the person had been treated but would have to return within an agreed-upon period of time to check on the status of the injuries and would have to join the others in the cafeteria. As for the people whose bracelet was red... These people had to stay in a room in the hospital and their movements were limited because their case was between serious and critical. Hearing that most of the students were gathered in the dining room, Nora walked to it, opening the door wide to see the number of teenagers sitting around the tables (some of them even sitting on the tables) eating without appetite, drinking, whispering words of comfort to those who needed it. The conversations were low-key, as if they were afraid that raising their voices would cause another disaster. A blue-haired student with a red nose resembling a clown was trying to cheer up a young girl with tired eyes, hiding in the arms of her older brother who was sitting next to a teacher whose eyes couldn't focus on anything. Another, whose blond hair was falling down the right side of her face and whose eyebrows were curiously curled, was helping to serve the meal trays, trying to keep a semblance of a smile, even though the situation made this gesture so natural... complicated.

"Hey! Miss Rickman's here!" A long-nosed student exclaimed, pointing at Nora.   
"Stop shouting Usopp... We all have headaches." A red-orange-haired girl mumbled with a vague wave of her hand to Nora. "Nice to see you, miss."  
"Nice to see you too. I'm relieved you're here." As Nora passed her hand over her feverish forehead, a HUD window opened in front of her eyes to show that her temperature was rising steadily. "We will soon have more informations about where you will be staying for the time being."  
"Will you be staying with us?" The lady named Robin asked, huddled in the arms of a tall man with electric blue hair.   
"Of course I'll stay. There's no way I'm leaving you." Nora said with a faint smile, glad to see all the students from the Japanese delegation waiting together, as well as teachers and other students who were there during the New Year Eve’s party. 

From the long rows of students sitting on their chair, the silhouette of a man in his early thirties whose chocolate eyes were drawn out by fatigue and a migraine that kept pulsing his blood all over his skull stood up. His clothes were shabby and damaged by the flames and what appeared to be lacerations, and his face partially covered with thick bandages. And yet, despite the exhausted look that many cups of coffee had failed to raise, a spark was born in his eyes when he placed them on the young woman with long elven ears and amaryllis hair.   
Nora took a first step towards him, then a second, before rushing into the arms of her colleague and lover, a squeak indicating a restrained sob escaping from her lips as she began to tremble, hidden in the arms of Professor William Murdoch who held her tightly against him. 

"You’re here… You’re alive... I am reassured." William said of her English tinged with a slight Scottish accent.   
"’Told you I’ll come back. You... Your face." Nora said, putting her fingertips on the bandages. "You were attacked?"  
"Far from it. An explosion blew out a window and the shards of glass fell on me. I gathered as many students as I could in the school van and drove them here with the first wave of ambulance." William explained, taking the hand of the young woman who began to peel, unveiling under the hauled skin a black Android chassis with scarlet reflections. "I was scared... I couldn't see you anywhere and you didn't answer your phone."  
"A phone doesn't work well with a bullet going through it. And... My communication circuit was only plugged into the emergency frequency to keep me informed of what was going on." Nora confessed, and then took a flick from her boyfriend.   
"You goof... Don't scare me like that." William murmured, coming to put his hand in the mass of his girlfriend's hair to make her bend over and steal a desperate kiss that brought some smiles and applause from the students. 

"Love, stronger than fire!" The clown-nosed student exclaimed. 

When William finally decided to let go of the young woman's lips, his reassured expression turned to anxiety when he saw that they had turned black, cracked into strange little golden lines that ran through her veins and down to her heart.   
Nora wanted to tell him that all was well but could only push him away to cough and spit blood into her hand, again and again, a mixture of red and black before she heard William shouting the order to call Dr. Rickman or the Gogoneas to the cafeteria as soon as possible, catching up with Nora who had begun to collapse under the terrified cries of the students.   
Her vision was then blurred, her Android windows of vision jumped in front of her eyes until darkness invaded her, making her go limp in the arms of William and a Chinese student who had left his younger sister to come and hide her from the curious eyes of the curious by calling Dr. Rickman and Dr. Gogonea to come and take care of her.   
William would pat her on the cheek, calling her and trying to get any sign of life on his girlfriend's face.

But there was nothing but darkness around Nora. Black... And the memories of everything that had happened since that day when she received that email inviting her to apply to the White Star Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcomed! <3


	3. The Sword of Damocles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or: The origins of the White Star Academy and a quick resume of its situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! What's up? Here's a new chapter! I hope you will enjoy it as much as the first!  
> It's mostly narrative, to explain the situation before the adventure starts. I hope it will not be unpleasant to read.   
> As always, English is not my first language, so please forgive me if I made any mistakes. But point them out so I can correct it ASAP!

The White Star Academy had come into being five years earlier, out of the ground at high speed, as if the workers (humans and Androids) wanted for the campus of this school to integrate as quickly as possible the landscape of Detroit. It had directly caught the eye of passers-by, young and old alike, who felt attracted by these large buildings whose architecture was changing with that of downtown Detroit, where technology ruled everything. The campus looked more like one of those mansions from those fictions where people with extraordinary powers lived, hidden from the rest of the world before going through it once they were ready to leave. With a huge garden, trees in abundance, several pounds where students could observe maritime life, clean, state-of-the-art facilities ready to welcome those who would take the entrance exam.   
Because not everyone could join this school. You had to pass an entrance exam related to the section that the student wanted to join, and rumor had it that this exam was particularly difficult, as if the school only wanted to have the best and most motivated students in its ranks. 

This was the ambition of Edward John Smith, the school principal. To offer students of all backgrounds a chance to study in the best of the Android cradle.  
Speaking of these humanized creatures shaped by CyberLife, Smith had chosen not to depend on them for the time being, preferring humans to technology in the first instance. Perhaps, depending on how advanced the school was, he would use Android technology.   
But for the time being, the British man was happy with the team he had chosen to inaugurate the White Star Academy, whose flags were flying in the warm wind of August 2032. Red with a white star between two branches of laurel, where the words "White Star Academy" were inscribed in small, carefully embroidered scrolls. A real coat of arms, a logo that people would remember in the months and years to come. At any rate, Smith hoped so.   
Everyone hoped so. From the principal to Henry Wilde, the accounting professor. To Robert Hitchens, the mathematics teacher. To Cosmo Duff-Gordon who would teach social sciences and George Rowe who would introduce students to different sports. Not to mention David Blaire, the history teacher, or Benjamin Guggenheim, the literature teacher.   
So many basic subjects taught at first, not to mention art under the piercing gaze of Mrs. Ruth Dewitt-Buckater, the science of Galdino (a teacher straight from the Land of the Rising Sun)... Edward hoped to add more subjects over time, to expand the Academy to become Detroit's first school, so that all those looking for a future could come and teach there, regardless of their origins, their backgrounds, their physique... He wanted a school without discrimination. A pure school that would stand out from all others by this principle.   
"Everyone is entitled to a chance. Just reach out your hand to anyone who wants to take it."

Unfortunately, such a beautiful and touching principle went against Joseph's," says Bruce, Ismay. The Assistant Director and Chief Financial Officer of the institution. He didn't understand that students could be valuable through their knowledge and found Smith's idea completely idyllic. Although this time he seemed to have learned his lessons from the closure of his previous school in Southampton. A dark story of scams, drug dealing and other things that had tarnished the White Star name... But not enough to discourage Smith who decided to take his dream across the Atlantic, crossing the ocean to make it come true in the promised land that was the United States.   
For Ismay, it was a golden opportunity to see the development of the school explode. Especially in Detroit which seemed to have a certain monopoly on the economy thanks to CyberLife with whom he wanted to make a partnership, refused by Smith who wanted to privilege the human above all else. Ismay said that it would be a waste of money, that the Androids didn’t need a salary, just maintenance, and that they wouldn't take time off if things went wrong for them. But as usual, this kind of conversation always ended with a slamming door and a few days of silence between the two men, whose term 'partner' seemed less and less appropriate. Ismay was the school's main financier, but thought he had a monopoly on controlling everything that happened on campus. This was totally illusory. 

Thus, began the adventure of the Academy which opened its doors in September 2032. It was a wonderful first year, rich in encounters, emotions, devotion, both from teachers and students who proudly displayed the school uniform and the laurel coat of arms. The press kept talking about the incredible results of this school that began to develop.   
September 2033, new students, new classes, the appearance of a dormitory for students living too far from campus or those with difficult family situations. Everything continued to go well, and Smith saw his small school empire flourish, his students flourishing, and he watched them like a shepherd watching over his precious flock so that no one would get lost. Unfortunately, in every flock there was a black sheep, or an infection waiting for the right time to go bad. And it was already too late when Smith realized the situation.   
Students from more than privileged backgrounds had joined the school, not because they had passed the entrance exam, but because their parents had paid an astronomical amount of money to allow them to come and study where the best education was held. Some of these parents, doctors, and politicians, even stood as financial guarantors for the school, provided that the children could succeed without fear or hardship.   
This created an unhealthy climate for the White Star, which saw its success rate drop, racism rise and violence between students and teachers begin. Some students had a heavy background, had a full page in their criminal record, had made mistakes along the way... Some were foreigners and did not have a complete mastery of the English language, which caused them to think aggressively of others. Only certain "angels" as the professors liked to call them escaped the verbal abuse that had become legion on campus, slowly rotting Smith's dream of seeing his school crumble a little more each day. 

The start of the 2035 school year was without a doubt the trigger for what would be the worst school year the White Star would ever experience. Violence between students and teachers was escalating. Detentions, dismissals, meetings with parents, nothing could calm this sinister rise.   
The school saw a brother and his younger sister from a Chinese province come into the school, seeking a last hope for a better future. It also welcomed the first students of a Japanese delegation. A partnership with the prestigious Grand Line Academy located in Japan, whose director (Edward Newgate) was a close friend of Smith's, was to enable the Grand Line's elite students to study in the United States. These young foreigners represented the hope of a new wind on the boat that was the Academy, the proof that good things could happen if those who asked for one were given a chance.   
But he quickly came back from his clouds of hopes...   
In February 2036, a student was found in his dorm room in a deplorable state, seriously injured and with such a high dose of Red Ice (a particularly violent drug derived from cocaine) in his blood that authorities believed that drug trafficking was taking place on campus. The case was turned over to the Detroit Police Department (DPD) unit headed by Captain Jeffrey Fowler. While his unit usually dealt only with homicide cases, Fowler decided to turn the case over to his best (and youngest) officer, Connor Erka-Rickman, who had specialized in tracking down Red Ice dealers. That's how he got made Lieutenant when he was less than thirty years old, after all.   
The investigation lasted many weeks, during which the police went back and forth in the school, searching students as they entered and left classes, finding many students in possession of those little bags of red crystals. Some were arrested, taken into custody... But the majority were released on bail, once again, thanks to the power of money. This was not to please the Lieutenant and his captain, who asked him to keep an eye on this story. The injured student was able to return to school at the end of March, and rumors about him spread. The meanness of teenagers knew no bounds, but the meanness of parents was sometimes much worse. 

To make matters worse, David Blaire, the history teacher, resigned in early April, leaving his students with whom relationships were at their worst. He was one of those teachers who smeared the minds of teenagers with his inappropriate comments, as if he was trying to break everything they were, and all their hopes. This resignation was followed by a dramatic incident in which Benjamin Guggenheim, the literature professor, was the victim of a bad joke that brought him to the hospital. Smith was assured that his life was not in danger, and that his eyesight would not be affected, despite the substances that had exploded on his face.   
It was all bad timing... so bad. And the fall of the school only continued when a letter arrived on the principal's desk. A letter that had the effect of an atomic bomb.  
In view of the school's extremely low success rate, the violence there and the sinister drug deal, the White Star was on the verge of the final fence, with no other chance for Smith to resume his dream. If he couldn't turn the situation around by June... the school would close. Quite simply. There would be no school, no Academy, nothing and no one. The students who came here by the sweat of their brow and their will to succeed would see the doors to their future closed.  
It was simply impossible for Edward to imagine, and he responded to this letter promising to do everything he could to restore the reputation of his school. He couldn't afford to lose his school, his dream... Not when he had invested everything in it, even though Ismay had injected most of the necessary money. Not when, at this very moment, a flood of students were taking what was supposed to be the exam of their lives, which would allow them to find out if they had what it took to leave Japan to come and study at his school... now reduced to a wobbly house of cards, ready to collapse at the next crisis.   
Smith brings his colleagues together, all of them, without exception, to try to explain the situation to them. But most of them blamed the students for their behavior and lack of respect. Henry Wilde, who had for the past year and a half swapped his role as teacher for that of prefect (and right-hand man of the principal), did not like what he heard and hoped with all his heart that a solution could be found, not hesitating to put the insolent teachers in their place.   
Ismay and these teachers didn't want to question themselves. 

But for the time being, as the sword of Damocles found its place above the school looking like a house of cards ready to collapse at the next crisis, the period of "Great Cold" as Smith called it arrived.  
The school took a week off between April 10th and 17th. Every year. At the same time. Smith knew it. There was danger lurking on the school grounds. A danger far more powerful than the pettiness, wickedness and violence that reigned within these walls. For in this period of forced rest, Smith and many of the teachers (in addition to a few students) were all suffering from the same evil.   
They all felt as if they were freezing in place, as if they were immersed in the coldest water in the world, pierced from side to side by needles leaving no skin surface untouched. The impression of drowning in their blankets as they desperately tried to keep warm. Smith was one of those 'cursed' who had to go to the hospital in the hope of survival, entrusting his life to the nurses of Serpendor... The largest and most popular hospital in the Northern United States. An establishment run with an iron fist by a director that he admired and respected, having a contract with him thanks to the students of the medical section who could come to do their internships here.   
Although he initially disliked the idea of talking about his condition (more worrisome to him than his cholesterol), Smith understood that many of his colleagues suffered from the same affliction. The young woodworking teacher, Thomas Andrews, once told him that in those moments he felt as if he was strangling himself with guilt, as if he was guilty of some abominable misfortune of which he was unaware. Henry Wilde had spoken to him of a sense of urgency, of failure, of not being able to do the right thing in the right time, and the feeling that his heart had been ripped out of him. That something was missing. That he had lost someone. It was really one of the worst times for the school, for all of them who were experiencing these strange symptoms that no doctor could identify. Smith himself was unable to answer the questions of the Serpendor nurses. Some exceptions laughed and said he was somatizing... He would have to have a conversation with the hospital’s director in person.

Once the doors of the school opened, things started again... whether it was from the teachers or the students. As if nothing and no one had the strength to make a difference. Smith became desperate. The vise tightened around him, ready to crush him. Him and his dreams. What could he do to save his school? What could he do to save these young people who were eager to study, and to bring justice to the hallways where everything had failed? He couldn't hire a policeman to watch over the students. It would simply be impossible, and the ultimate proof of his incompetence. And yet, the idea of hiring someone with the same (if not more) strong character as the most stubborn students and teachers had been on his mind ever since his hospitalization.   
A long recruitment period began for Smith, and dozens of e-mails inviting him to apply were sent at his request to anyone he thought would be able to take over one of the two vacant positions. 

The professors he met all wanted the same thing. An extraordinary salary for minimal hours. Many tried. All failed for the same reasons. And the recruitment wave started again every week.  
There had to be someone in Detroit who could turn the tide! Someone who wouldn't be afraid to get wet, to get in the pile, and with shoulders strong enough to support the weight he had to share with someone other than Wilde.  
Until one day a name came to his ears via his secretary, a scandal-ridden newspaper lover who liked to give her opinion out loud on those pages she was devouring. Sometimes not, often to the detriment of her basic work.  
Dr. Rickman's daughter has STILL made waves by attacking the conservatory. HAHAHA, what a crock that one is. With such a bad temper and bad manners, she will never find a job. She should stay and study mummies. At least we wouldn't have to see her ugly face. That girl is crazy.   
Rickman's name echoed in Smith's mind. Rickman was the name of the director of Serpendor. The name of the one who was one of the greatest archaeologists of his time, if not the one who had climbed to the top of the pantheon of explorers. But Alan Rickman had put away his archaeological utensils to devote himself to medicine. And his children had taken up his torch. And while the secretary continued to spill her venom, Smith was reading an online article on the same subject, but in a different way... Young Rickman had taken action against the conservatory, which had stolen the results of a long-term project that she and her brother had struggled to complete.   
As Smith watched the scarred face in one of the photos in the article, and the scarlet hair of this young lady, a strange feeling gripped Smith's heart. 

What if this young woman who everyone thought was crazy was the solution? What if her bad temper was the solution to put everyone in their right place and get the students back on the right track? Now Smith was sure of it. This woman was the one he needed... the one who could help him save the school. He felt it in his gut, right down to his very core. She was the one.  
So, he asked his secretary to send an e-mail to this young woman, inviting her to come in for a job interview to fill the position of history teacher.   
All he had to do was hope that the young Nora Rickman would receive this e-mail and the letter that would accompany it before leaving on one of her great explorations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next week for another chapter!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcomed <3


	4. 2 - Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Medias can ruin a reputation as quickly as they can build it.... And turn dreams to ruins, when people are not doing it first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am... UNFORGIVABLE!!   
> My computer broke, and I had to start a new treatment due to my health condition. Which made it very difficult for me to keep writting. I'm sooooooo late on schedule, I'll try my best to keep posting!  
> I really hope you will like this new chapter. ToT

Time left no one indifferent, changing everything in its path. Whether it was the landscapes, the buildings or the faces of the people, nothing was spared. Civilizations rose and fell over the years, names were engraved in history books and then forgotten until someone dug them up.   
But there was one thing that time could not change. The name of a family that left no one indifferent, good, or bad. It continued to grow, to rise and face everything that stood in its way, as if nothing could stop its members united against all odds. Not that everything had been easy for them. Life had marked the heart of the family with many dramas that the tabloid press loved to broadcast in articles whose truthfulness was most dubious. At a time when social networks played a key role in building a reputation or destroying it, it was not uncommon to see the Rickman's name appear in the headlines to create a buzz or launch yet another controversy. Whether it was for Alan Rickman, a former archaeologist who became Detroit's best doctor... Or for his two children who had taken up his torch by surveying the world to discover the secrets buried in the history of past civilizations.   
Luckily, they could count on the help of an old family friend who took great pleasure in tracking down and contradicting all these rumors via his own online information platform.   
This was what had been damaging to her until now... A plethora of rumors and scandals erupted every time she did something that wasn't deemed to be in accordance, closing off many options related to the future she wanted to shape. 

It was without counting on the arrival of an unexpected letter inviting him to attend a job interview at what was the most prestigious school in Detroit. An Academy she had heard a lot about without ever daring to apply. Two weeks after the arrival of this letter, she parked in the parking lot of this school whose architecture contrasted enormously with the two faces of the Android city. Nora Rickman breathed a long sigh and then sighed all the air accumulated in her lungs, freeing her mind of her nervousness, the countless questions that jostled in her mind, and a feeling of uneasiness that gripped her heart since she woke up. After all, it wasn't every day that she received an invitation to attend a job interview in such an elegant and refined building. With a new sigh, she let herself go in the car seat, listening to the end of a song she loved, which was playing through the powerful speakers of her sports car while smoking a cigarette whose fruity scent pervaded the cabin. As she did so, she reread the documents she had brought with her to meet with the director.   
There was the invitation e-mail that granted her entry into the school complex (which made her understand that the school was not kidding about security measures), a copy of her CV and cover letter, and a few press articles about her discoveries and exploits over the past few years. Everything was neatly packed in a plastic pouch that she put back in her bag, between a water bottle, a brown leather case and a notebook that she always kept with her. She adjusted her hair one last time as she looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror, put on some lipstick and perfume before leaving her car, stretching for a long time being careful not to wrinkle the impeccable suit she was wearing. Classic black pants with a white shirt, a black jacket, and ballerinas at her feet. No need for heels when you were as tall as she was, after all. 

So, it was with a heart full of hope that Nora set off, looking at the building that stood before her with elegance and pride. The red brick blended perfectly with the white columns decorating the facades where ivy and wild roses climbed. At the top, hanging on the open roof, flew the flag bearing the emblem found on the mail she had received and printed. A red banner decorated with golden laurel leaves encircling a white star, flapping in the gentle April breeze. On closer inspection, the architecture was reminiscent of certain English buildings. Like those great schools where many mysteries and adventures took place, rivalries between clans and convictions. With a dreamy smile on her face, Nora approached the fence thinking that these old-fashioned buildings were more than welcome in Detroit's technological landscape. This Michigan city has been known as the "Cradle of Androids" since Elijah Kamski founded CyberLife there nearly a decade ago. The landscape was a dreamlike place, even if the other side of the coin was not as glorious as one might think. Detroit was now torn between wealth and poverty. Luxury and misery. Seeing the school and its large, paved courtyard, Nora felt that the Academy seemed to offer a bridge between these two worlds.   
With this last thought in mind, Nora approached one of the two guards guarding the gate to present her authorization. The two men stopped bickering over what seemed to be a trifle, and one of them looked at the letter presented by the young woman and smiled amusedly.

"The director's office is in the main building. Good day, miss." The guard says in a cheerful voice, letting her through. "And good luck!"

Nora offered him a simple wave of her hand before passing through the huge gate that revealed the beauty of the courtyard. It was carefully paved, decorated with trees with delicate flowers whose petals were deposited in the cut grass where the students preferred to eat outside. There were also a few water spots where various colorful fish swam between the algae and the lotus. The lapping of the water had something restful about it, as if it were perfectly normal for Nora to be there. As if she belonged there. She stopped at the entrance of the main building indicated by the security guard and took her phone to take a few pictures of this courtyard that was alive again with the arrival of spring.   
The redhead put her hand on the handle of the heavy door and turned her head as she heard exclamations coming from the side of the courtyard. A group of excited students were laughing and cheering at two young people who were busy fighting and hurling such a barrage of insults that Nora had the distinct impression that they had been in contact with her godfather. Wait. No. No one could hurl as many insults per second as he did. Nora quickly looked at the time and walked away from the door to the crowd in the hope of calming the situation, before noticing the silhouette of a man smashing a cigarette butt on the bottom of his shoe. The man approached with great strides and ordered calm in a voice as loud as a whip, catching the two students in discord and separating them as if they weighed nothing. The aura emanating from the man who was to be the authority figure in the school was enough to calm the situation, and, magnanimously, he let the students go with a simple warning, standing in front of them with their backs straight as if they were soldiers. 

"Or that of an Officer." Nora said to herself with a touch of curiosity, wondering where she had seen his face before.   
"Can I help you?" The educator asked while approaching her, drawing her from her thoughts. "I've never seen you here before."  
"Huh? No. Finally. Maybe you haven't. I'm meeting the director for a job interview at 1:30. I'm told it's in the main building. I was just distracted by the altercation." The redhead says as she takes back the invitation e-mail to show him.   
"Ah yes, I was told you'd be here. The director's office is on the third floor, left corridor." He says in a beautiful English accent. "I wish you success. We could use an extra pair of arms."

And with these last words, he left Nora to go and settle another glaring problem in the yard, without even giving his name or rank. No, his role in the school. Nora remained a few seconds on the spot, trying to channel her mind, which kept making connections that she judged... Doubtful. She sighed slightly before pushing the door of the building, entering a hall with sumptuous decorations. A huge glass dome stood on the top floor, diffusing the rays of the spring sun onto an ebony and marble staircase. The sculptures on this staircase were so detailed, so precise that Nora could not resist brushing against them with her fingertips. The contact was short-lived, but enough to unsettle the young woman, who was convinced that she had heard the whistle of an old ship ringing in her ears. She shook her head slightly and began to climb the steps, checking the time of day from time to time in the right corner of her vision. She passed a few students coming down the stairs with appetizingly smelling sandwiches, but her attention was drawn more to the outfit they were wearing. So, this school was in favor of wearing uniforms to limit discrimination? This had the merit of bringing a little smile to the face of the redhead who stopped near a second-floor window. There she noticed a young man almost as tall as her, whose Asian features were enough for her to recognize him as he was speaking with his sister in a soft voice, pointing to her cheek with small traces of paint that he was trying to remove with a wipe. After all, she still had fifteen minutes before her interview, so she approached them until the younger sister tapped her brother's arm to signal him to turn around. 

"Oh, hello, miss." He said with a small smile, his amber eyes seeming to sparkle.   
"Hello, miss!" His little sister says in a cheerful voice. "What are you doing here?"  
"I've been invited for a job interview. Glad to see that you passed the entrance exam! Congratulations Daisuke, you too Jill."  
"Thank you. Never succeed without help from your family. Thank your brothers again." The young man named Daisuke says with a more than basic English.   
"That's good. I'm relieved to see that you're better." Nora smiles as she looks at these two teenagers who social services had tried to separate a few months earlier because of a sordid rumor. Nora's family had been involved in the case, and she was proud to see that it had worked out. "With that, I'll leave you. Late arrivals are out of the question!"  
"Wait up!" Daisuke said as he reached into a pocket of his bag to pull out a small woodcarving of a dragon holding a Chinese coin in its mouth. "Here. For luck. Can't wait to have you as a teacher."  
"Good luck!" Jill added with a voice so sweet and cheerful that it seemed to make the redhead's heart burn with sunshine.

Nora looked at the small object carefully and had a small laugh as she carefully slipped it into her pocket, before winking at them and climbing to the third floor as indicated earlier by the hurried educator. Thus, Daisuke and Jill Liang had found their place in the school. She absolutely had to tell her family when she returned home after that meeting with the principal, whose office door seemed to stand in front of her like an impenetrable rampart. Nora sighed and looked at the golden sign glistening on the carefully varnished wood of the door she knocked on.

DIRECTION  
J.B.ISMAY  
E.SMITH  
SECRETARIAT  
L.DUFF-GORDON

How can one guess who was the director and who was his second in command? The letter stated, however, that it was Mr. Smith who had invited her. Was he the deputy director who had written the note for this Ismay? This name was terribly familiar to her, only amplifying a feeling of déjà vu she had had while watching the stairs in the entrance hall. However, she no longer had time to take her phone to do a quick search, the door opening in front of her to reveal a woman in her forties whose heady perfume attacked Nora's nostrils. Named Lucille Duff-Gordon, she was of average height but of alarming finesse, her face was very thin and her eyes sunken in her sockets giving her the appearance of a dazed owl... Or a scarecrow, judging by the creped mane in a bun straight from the twenties. Nora then introduced herself, bowing her head slightly to show the invitation e-mail for the umpteenth time. Mrs. Duff-Gordon looked at her from head to toe with a smile that Nora couldn't identify, before letting her go into her secretarial office under dim lights. Decorated with a style strongly inspired by Rococo, this room looked like a suffocating boudoir with its drawn drapes that let no natural light filter through... Not to mention the perfume that was too aggressive for the sense of smell of the scarlet-haired young woman who was on the brim of a headache.   
Nora straightened her hair and watched Mrs. Duff-Gordon open another door leading to a bright office.

"Mr. Director isn't here yet, but you can wait in his office, Miss...?" Lucille said in a rattling voice as she looked at Nora with her dark eyes.   
"Taylor. Nora Taylor." The redhead answered without blinking.   
"Very well..." The secretary chuckled.

Lucille moved to let her in and promptly closed the door behind her. Alone in this large, airy room with a magnificent view of the courtyard, Nora allowed herself to sigh as she approached the window. She looked at her reflection and tried to adjust her hair, which was already perfectly tied up in a high tail held by a sumptuous hair stick decorated with jade stones. A purely nervous reflex that she couldn't afford if she wanted to make an ideal first impression. She checked the time. 1:35 p.m... The director was five minutes late. No doubt he had been held up by a meeting, or something of the utmost importance. Five minutes... It wasn't that bad. It gave Nora a chance to analyze the office and the decoration that contrasted so much with the stuffy boudoir. Here, everything was classier and more classic. The director seemed to have a passion for the Ocean and Japan. She saw various diplomas hanging on the wall behind the desk as well as some newspaper articles proclaiming the greatness of the Academy which made her smile and gave her some comfort.   
14h45. What could have kept the director so long? The waiting time was becoming interminable and was beginning to add a layer of nervousness to Nora's mind as she could not see herself using her phone to check her messages for fear of being surprised by the arrival of the school's great leader. It would be rude... Not as rude as using a fake name to answer the invitation... But given the reputation of the Rickman family, Nora had decided to go out and get her job based solely on her abilities. There was no way she could take advantage of her family's reputation once again and hear the same scandalous stories repeatedly. Nora felt the need to smoke, playing nervously with the cigarette pack in the inside pocket of her bag. Perhaps she could afford to open the window and have a quick smoke? No. Of course not. But it had to be admitted that being so late for a job interview when the invitation stipulated impeccable punctuality... It was bordering on insulting. Nora then decided to sit down and joined hands, closing her eyes to control her breathing, breathing in and out for a long time to recalibrate her thoughts, getting her mind back on track before it went off in all directions like a cold sore from nervousness.

"Don't panic. Everything will be all right. Everything will be all right. Breathe calmly and everything will be all right." She repeated herself by rotating the stress ring she had around her thumb.

The little clock on the edge of the fake chimney tinkling joyfully, announcing that 2:00 p.m. had arrived. And finally, after half an hour of waiting, the office door opened, and Nora got up and turned to see her opposite.   
The man in front of her was shorter than she was, a little skinny with prominent cheekbones and a well-groomed moustache like the rest of his outfit. A very chic three-piece suit perfectly tailored for his corpulence as well as his shoes that gave him the look of a pretentious dandy. As if his pulled back brown hair and his dark, piercing and vicious eyes were not enough to give Nora a deep sense of unease. The man looked at her from top to bottom, without even trying to pretend otherwise when his gaze was lost on certain areas of her body, before he had to raise his head to look her in the eyes.   
Ah. The disadvantages of being taller than average... Ignoring the feeling of having a drop of ice water running down her spine, Nora offered a friendly smile to the man and reached out her hand to make a first gesture... Before seeing him walk around the desk to sit down without even deigning to respond to his gesture. The redhead had a little nervous twitch in her eye and made a sharp remark before turning to look at the one who seemed to be the director... Even though he didn't seem to belong behind the desk, which didn't seem compatible with his mere presence. 

"Mr. Smith, it's a pleasure to meet you." Nora started with a sweet smile.  
"I am Joseph Bruce Ismay. Mr. Smith is only my subordinate." Ismay interrupted. "Let's begin, shall we? I don't have much time for you."  
"Super nice." Nora thought as she watched Ismay wipe his mouth with a handkerchief to collect the last traces of sauce from the dinner he seemed to have taken his time to enjoy. "I would have preferred to have the subordinate."  
"So you covet the position of history professor, Miss… Taylor?" Ismay resumed.   
"To tell the truth, I received an e-mail from Mr. Smith inviting me to apply for the position. I received a message this morning telling me that the appointment had been brought forward. As this was a great opportunity to get this kind of job, I didn't hesitate to come." Nora said in a calm and composed voice despite the plethora of questions that were pressing in her head. "I brought you a copy of my resume." She added by sliding the said paper that Ismay grasped with a sharp gesture to look at it attentively.   
"Those are quite a skill you have there, Miss Taylor." He said, playing with his moustache. "You have a lot of baggage behind you, for such a young archaeologist. Surprised you weren't hired sooner."  
"I guess I didn't pick the right cards. But it would be a real honor for me to be able to teach here. I hope to be able to use my experience in the field to teach the best things to the students." Nora says, wondering why Ismay insisted so much on certain words.

Ismay's smirk turned into a grin that made Nora feel rather uncomfortable. Her little dark eyes stared at her again, observing everything he hadn't seen when he entered the director's office. The woman in front of him had a tanned complexion, long red hair held in a neat hairstyle, except for those few strands that didn't stay in place and fell lazily over her face and shoulders. She had long pointed ears decorated with earrings that protruded from her hair, an opulent chest that prevented her from completely closing her shirt... And if there was no doubt that her face once had soft features amplified by her freckles, all Ismay saw at that moment were the heavy scars on her face. On her lips, eyes, nose, and cheeks. As if nothing had spared the young woman who did not move in front of him, waiting for the conversation to continue so as not to say too much. The only thing moving in her was a long lock of hair pointing to the sky, which nodded from one side to the other, as if moved by its own will. And a luminous ring embedded in her left temple shone with a small bluish glow that pulsed peacefully. An L.E.D. of Android. The same as those machines coming out of the CyberLife warehouses.   
Ismay didn't seem happy to see this luminous appendix on the young woman's temple. But what disturbed him the most came from the young woman's gaze. Her eyes were green like emeralds in the sunlight, with a strange pale cross glistening in a way that Ismay couldn't describe, intimidating her as much as possible. He, who had tried to dominate the conversation by trying to dominate her with his eyes, found himself caught in his own trap. He thought he saw a golden glow in the redhead's irises, and his pupil split like a cat. For Ismay, the thing was finished. This woman had something dangerous that made him terribly nervous. He saw she had a nameless determination that didn't please him, making him wince before a grin formed on his pinched lips.

"It's true that finding a job can't have been easy for you. I mean, after being turned down everywhere else, you must have run out of options. Isn't that right, Miss Rickman?" He says with a sneer.   
"I beg your pardon?" Nora was surprised and frowned.   
"My poor girl. You really thought that giving a false name would allow you to pass freely? You would have to change galaxies so that no one would recognize you. With your hair and your completely ravaged face, you are recognizable everywhere you go. And it’s easy to keep track of you, given all your scandals." Ismay laughed as he threw the latest issue of a celebrity magazine on the desk where a stolen photo of Nora was on the front page.  
"I wouldn't call that a reliable source of information." Nora sighed, the LED on her forehead turning yellow. "I never give my real name when I go to a job interview, that's true. But it's not for lack of honesty."  
"No, no, of course. It's because you know very well that no one would want to hire someone from your... family. I thought your father was a lunatic, but YOU, dear... You are clearly the worst of this crazy family!" Ismay said in a cold burst of laughter.   
"Measure your words carefully when you speak of my family, Mr. Ismay." Nora whistled between her teeth, her ears drooping like an annoyed cat.  
"Is that a threat?" Bruce scoffed. "It seems the information circulating about you is true."  
"These magazines are full of lies and rumors, I don't see why you pay attention to them. No one is totally pure and perfect; we've all made a faux pas at one time or another. Just because I've made few of them means that I'm worthless. If you give me a chance, I could prove to you that I am perfectly capable of teaching by the rules and that-" Nora took up her anger again.  
"And drag our prestigious students down and tarnish our reputation. No, we don't need a vandal like you. What's next? You would bring disgrace to our name in no time at all just by your presence. Why would I do that? You’re nothing more than a failure, a freak, a piece of garbage that nobody wants and who clings to the dreams of an old fool because the whole world rejects it for a good reason. Not to mention the fact that your... physique would distract our students, or worse, scare them with all your scars and elven ear implants. I wouldn't even talk about your breasts." Bruce says in a burst of laughter. "We don't need your teaching, Nora Rickman. You can leave. You can leave now."

Ismay had hoped to drive the young woman mad with anger, pressing the subjects that had already managed to get her off her back. But Nora remained Olympian calm, content to look at him coldly. Bruce then took the documents she had given him and slipped them into the paper shredder to destroy any trace. The photo that the young woman had pinned on her resume was laminated, overflowing from the wastebasket, and scattering scarlet strips on the floor. Nora watched the scene until the end, before getting up, bowing and thanking him for receiving it... And she left the office in a quick step to go to the hallway and let out a long sigh she didn't know she was holding back. She leaned against a wall and ran her hand through her hair to remove her brooch, letting her scarlet mop run down her back.  
It was the end of a dream. A bitter failure. No. A total humiliation whose cruel words resonated in his mind repeatedly. Ismay... Fucking Ismay. He didn't even give him a chance to talk about his skills, his motivations. No, all he had seen in her were her scars, her physical differences. The gossip and pettiness of the people sweating in the "press". As immersed in her gloomy thoughts as she was, Nora didn't notice that she had taken the stairs down to the second floor, wandering down the hallway until she uttered a raging growl and hit the wall with her clenched fist, short of breath. She could feel her eyes burning with tears just waiting to flow. But she couldn't afford to cry. Not here. Not now. She would cry when she got home and plunged into a hot shower, before telling her family the bad news.   
How would Alan react? Would he be disappointed to learn that she had been turned down for a job again? He would be proud to learn that she had been invited to the White Star...

"Come on... That poor wall hasn't done anything to you, miss. And this school is solid. Very solid. It will take more than a punch to knock it down." A deep voice of extreme gentleness rose beside her.   
"One can always hope." Nora grumbled as she turned to the man who had just spoken to her. 

Taller than Ismay, the man's blue eyes shone with a strange malice that could be read in his wrinkles and the smile hidden by his moustache and his well-groomed white beard. He was tall, a bit potbellied, leaning on the counter of a small shop where it was possible to buy drinks and snacks. He looked so friendly and benevolent that Nora approached him when he signaled her to come. She then searched her bag to remove the documents that had led her to this situation and tore them up in front of this man who looked like Captain Igloo and looked at her with curiosity. He then went to the back of his hostel and came back with a cup of hot chocolate which he slipped towards the young woman in pain, offering her a wink of complicity. 

"Drink. There's nothing a cup of hot chocolate can't soothe." He said. "Tell me, dear child. What is it that puts you in such a state?"  
"A broken dream, once more. I was so happy to receive this invitation for a job... Becoming a history teacher was one of the things I wanted most in the world. I was happy to apply... But that son of a bitch Ismay didn't give me a chance... Insulting my family... I should have made him eat his moustache." Nora said in a cold tone, before taking a sip of this welcome hot chocolate.   
"You met Mr. Ismay for a job interview?" The landlord asked in amazement.  
"To my great misfortune." Nora giggled. "The e-mail was sent to me by a certain E. Smith. But he would only be the deputy director, and dandy-dick took matters into his own hands."  
"I'm sorry about that, my dear." The man sighed sadly. "Oh! I didn't introduce myself. My name is Edward!" He added, reaching out his hand to the redhead.   
"Nora." She responded by offering him a firm grip.   
"You have a good grip! Tell me, Nora. For what reasons were you not taken?" Edward asked with great interest.   
"Because this school doesn't need someone like me. A vandal, a loser... a societal scumbag who has no place in education and who would scare the students." Nora explained bitterly before taking a big sip of her hot drink.

There was a small spark in Edward's eyes that Nora didn't notice. She was so absorbed in his thoughts that she didn't see him pinch his lips as he ran his fingers through his beard. He sighed and put his hand on Nora's, and spoke more softly, if possible.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Nora. No one should be compared to a piece of garbage, or whatever the words may be. It's a waste. Unfortunate. Really unfortunate. Maybe you were the one the school needed." Edward said.  
"I know I'm hot-blooded and I'm a fighter, it's true. I swear as much as a drunken sailor when I lose patience and sarcasm is my second language... But if I were to be a teacher, I would never talk to anyone that way. It doesn't matter where they come from. By dint of being heard to say that we are scum, failures... we end up believing it and we lose all confidence in ourselves and in our future. That's not what being a teacher is all about... Not for me." The young woman says with a sad smile. "But there are other people more qualified than me. I'm sure the job will be filled soon, I'm sure there's a line as long as the world to get a position here."  
"That goes without saying." Ismay's voice rose behind her. "I thought I told you to leave the establishment."  
"I invited her for a drink, Mr. Ismay." Edward said as he looked at the brown hair. "As far as I know, it's not forbidden."   
"No... Of course not. But she doesn't belong on campus. She doesn't belong at the school, and she never will." Bruce insisted, turning his eyes away to focus on Nora who squeezed the empty cup so tightly that it broke between her powerful fingers, startled the two men at his side. "Get her off the premises immediately, or I'll call the police."  
"It is rather you who will have problems calling the cops..." Nora whistled. 

The redhead took a deep breath, ready to add something akin to indecency, but the clatter of a broken window interrupted the flow of insanity about to pass her lips. Everyone turned to the left of the corridor, where three armed teenagers approached. The tallest of them (who was smaller than Nora, who was about two meters tall) struck the floor with his iron bar, causing the redheaded girl's ears to drop, disturbed by the noise. Her eyes were reddened with anger, rage, and a form of desperation that struck Nora in the heart, causing her to frown as Edward sighed sadly. Apparently, such scenes were not unknown on campus.

"Ismay! Asshole! Why did you send my little brother away, huh?! I'm the one who cheated on the test, not him! He had nothing to do with it!" The tallest of them all says. "That you sent me back because I screwed up, I can deal with. But you didn't have to fire him when he was doing so well!"  
"If one of them starts cheating, the other one will cheat too. If there's a flaw in the older one, the others will inherit it too!" Ismay spat as he huddled behind Nora. "It's only fair to rid the school of dishonest people."  
"In that case, why not get rid of you?" Edward mumbled as he stared at Ismay, drawing Nora's curiosity about the animosity between the two men. 

Nora raised her eyes to the sky and moved away so that Ismay could be in sight of the students who accused her of these abominations. One member of the trio had been expelled because he had hit a teacher, defending himself because the teacher had mocked him after learning of his brother's death in a gang feud. As for the other, he was suspected of taking drugs because a syringe had been found in a case in his bag... While he was diabetic and that syringe was used to regulate his insulin.   
Nora felt the strange mark on the back of his neck crackle with anger, wondering how a person could be so stupid as to mistake a drug syringe for an insulin regulator .   
Edward tapped Nora's shoulder and showed her the students and Ismay a torrent of insults to her face.

"What if you stopped them?" He asked maliciously.   
"Why would I do that?" Nora asked in return, raising an eyebrow.  
"Because of all of us, you're the best one to do it before it gets out of hand." Edward explained. "And this would be a good opportunity for you to put into practice what you told me earlier."  
"Miss Rickman, go ahead!" Ismay exclaimed, giving Nora a pat on the shoulder.   
"Don't touch me." Nora hissed.   
"That's your specialty, isn't it? To deal with this kind of degenerate waste. You must have seen a lot of it, traveling all over the world."  
"Aren't you tired of calling us trash or fools? Humiliating us and digging into our history to sink us?" The third student exclaimed in a trembling voice. "We passed our entrance exam like everyone else! Isn't the principle of this school to give a chance to everyone who wants to get on with their life?!"  
"Enough of this! I don't even see why I keep trying to talk to you! Rickman, attack! If you do, I assure you-"

Nora turned to Ismay and looked at him with icy eyes, the LED on her temple shining with a powerful red glow. The student who came with an iron bar rushed at Ismay with a scream of rage... The scream of someone who had nothing left to lose and was willing to do anything to restore a little justice in the chaos that had become his life. Because someone with the power to change things had used it to harm those who wanted to make a future for themselves. If that was the White Star Academy, Nora didn't want it. So bea it If she disappointed her family but working in an institution with a tyrannical director was out of the question. So, before the student could reach Ismay, Nora moved. She lifted her leg and stuck her foot in the dandy's neck and sent him crashing into the wall she had hit a few minutes earlier. The shock made him grunt like a pig and he collapsed on his side, unconscious and with a bloody nose. When Nora put her foot down, she heard the young man's iron bar fall to the ground, breaking the silence caused by his action.

"Waste. Waste. You have only this word in your mouth, to consider everyone as such as if you could dispose of them as vulgar objects. Since when has this kind of bullying been allowed in the teaching profession? I had been told that the White Star was an exceptional school, it's bullshit. It's because of people like you that students get lost and start going down the wrong path. If that's what being a teacher is all about... Your invitation is yours to keep. Boys... Go away. There's no point for you to stay here. Go to the Jester and say Nora sent you. You can eat something on my tab."  
"You wanted to be a teacher... Why did you hit him?" A student asked with shock.   
"I'd rather give up teaching than end up like that. Treating students this way... It's shameful." The redhead sighed before opening her wallet to slip a bill on the counter and look at Edward. "Thank you for the drink and for the encouragement."

Nora left the hallway and walked down the stairs to the lobby, where she saw the Liang's talking cheerfully during the last minutes of lunchtime. Jill noticed Nora coming back and happily waved her hand in her direction, attracting Daisuke's attention. But Nora's eyes weren't as soft as when she arrived, and Jill couldn't hold back a little grimace of discomfort.   
Especially seeing Nora take her brother's hand and slip the little lucky charm he had given her.

"Thank you for the attention. I wish I could have taught you history. Maybe a private lesson, who knows." She says sadly.  
"It's not fair! Why didn't the director hire you?" Jill exclaimed.   
"It seems that people like me don't belong here. That's okay. I'll go back out in the field. Ruins don't lie, unlike humans." Nora said.   
"I'm sorry... Wish I had you as teacher." Daisuke said, closing her fingers on the lucky charm.  
"And to work for such a despicable and haughty principal? No, thank you." The redhead said in a dry tone. "I'll let you get back to class. I'm going home. Take care of yourself."

With those last words, Nora left the campus to get back to her car and drive as fast as she could to put some distance between her and the Academy. She drove by the Hart Plaza where the CyberLife department store was located, across the street from the Jester's bar where she saw the three teenagers nervously returning home. At least they would find comfort there. The traffic light turned green, and the redhead roared her engine to get back to the family mansion as quickly as possible. There she would be safe to let her tears flow.  
After all, even if she was getting satisfaction from giving Ismay his money back, Nora knew that it was a small consolation, compared to the pain she felt seeing her dream slip away from her for good.  
At least she still had the archaeology and the field, and she could work a little more often with her big brother. Maybe even go back into the field with him. 

That was all she had left now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter!  
> Kudos are always welcomed!  
> If you spot english / grammar mistakes, please tell me and I'll correct them ASAP! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcomed! <3


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